Mental Health UK and Lloyds Banking Group launch new programme to tackle mental health challenge in young people across the UK

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Mental Health UK and Lloyds Banking Group launch new programme to tackle mental health challenge in young people across the UK

26 April 2019

Mental Health UK and Lloyds Banking Group have extended their partnership to a third year

Lloyds Banking Group colleagues have chosen to support a new programme tackling mental health challenges in young people

Research shows that one in eight children and young people experience mental health issues. This new programme will aim to equip 14 to 19 year olds with the skills they need to support their mental health

Mental Health UK and Lloyds Banking Group launch a new project to support the mental health of young people as part of their partnership which will continue for an additional year.

Research* shows that one in eight children and young people have experienced a mental health issue in the past year. The charity’s focus for next year, as chosen by Lloyds Banking Group colleagues, will be to look at the main issues affecting young people, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to protect their mental health.

The new programme is a collaboration between 500 young people, 100 teachers and Mental Health UK and will aim to reach over 100,000 young people in schools across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.The scheme will help prevent long-term mental health challenges in later years, developing practical resources to provide the skills needed for staying mentally healthy.

Lloyds Banking Group colleagues will be fundraising throughout 2019 for this programme, and customers can get involved by going into their local branch and making a donation.

Achievements of the partnership

The partnership has so far raised over £8 million to support people living with mental health challenges. This new initiative will build on an extensive programme of work delivered by the partnership over the last two years, which includes:

The launch of the Mental Health and Money Advice Service which was launched in 2017. The first of its kind in the UK, which supports people with both mental health and money problems.

Over 1,000 people having benefitted from specialist telephone support, saving each person an average of £1,000 worth of debt. 200,000 more have made use of the many resources online.

Training approximately 40,000 Lloyds Banking Group colleagues on mental health, helping them to promote wellbeing in the workplace.

Creating and distributing a mental health information guide to 5,000 GP surgeries and to 400,000 university students

Setting up 15 new support groups in isolated communities across the UK, with a further 25 groups due to open by 2020

Brian Dow, Managing Director of Mental Health UK, said:

“This partnership with Lloyds Banking Group has already made a real difference to people’s lives. The extension provides an opportunity to better support the workers, parents and carers of tomorrow, to everyone’s benefit.

“Growing up at any time can be difficult, but driven by changes in society, the economy and technology; young people are currently facing a series of unprecedented challenges. We need to do all we can to equip young people with the skills and knowledge to support and protect their mental health.

“We want to empower them to spot the signs of mental illness early, seek help when needed and look out for their friends who might also be struggling. We also need to shine a light on what is driving an increase in mental illness among young people, to bring about change wherever possible.”

Fiona Cannon, Lloyds Banking Group, said:

“Our partnership with Mental Health UK has achieved so much since 2017 and I am pleased that our colleagues have chosen to support this new programme in 2019. Together we will enable the development of resources for young people, to help prevent longer term mental health challenges by providing support that is required at this crucial early life stage.

Our ambition is to shift mindsets to recognise that we all have mental health, just as we all have physical health, and with the right support we can help our colleagues and customers with mental health conditions to thrive.”

At the start of 2018, we increased the amount of cover available to colleagues through Private Medical Benefit for mental health conditions, to be equal to the financial support available for physical conditions.

In May 2018 we launched a partnership with Headspace, a market leading meditation app to provide colleagues with access to mindfulness modules covering a range of topics from stress to self-esteem.

In September 2018 we held our signature challenge Walk the Talk, involving over 6,000 colleagues walking and talking about their mental health across the UK and the great wall of China.

Over 40,000 colleagues within Lloyds Banking Group have completed our training modules on mental health in the workplace.

Supporting our customers

Earlier in 2018 we launched an advertising campaign, #GetTheInsideOut, which aims to tackle the stigma associated with mental health conditions and encourage people to talk to others to find support.

We have a dedicated Customer Priority Team in our Credit Operations division, trained on how to provide specific support for customers with mental health conditions, such as addiction or bi-polar disorder, which can be linked to financial problems

We offer a number of digital tools such as text alerts, mobile app, internet banking, self-service overdraft reduction to help customers with mental health conditions stay in control of their finances.

About Mental Health UK

Mental Health UK brings together four national mental health charities working across the UK: Rethink Mental Illness, Support in Mind Scotland, Hafal and Mindwise.

We have 40 years' experience of working to improve life for people affected by mental illness in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We were originally set up as a single UK-wide organisation in the 1970s, and we are now working together once again as Mental Health UK.

We are working together to raise funds so that more people across the UK can access support for their own mental health and for friends and family members who are affected by mental illness.

Moving into the third year of the partnership, we are collaborating with 2CV Research to design the new programme and ensure young people’s needs are met.

About Mental Health and Money Advice

Mental Health & Money Advice is the first UK-wide online advice service designed to help you understand, manage and improve your financial and mental health.

2CV is a full service research agency dedicated to getting right to the hearts and minds of consumers. Our Social Practice focuses on seeing meaning in what people have to say, providing understanding and making sure that we help people have a voice so they can make meaningful change to the world around them.